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1403
MDLIAN 319.
TROUBLES IN HK.
JIANG ZEMIN
4. MANY PAPERS (25.3) WIDELY REPORTED JIANG ZEMIN'S REMARKS AT A MEETING WITH GUANGDONG NPC DELEGATES. ACCORDING TO THESE REPORTS, JIANG HAD MADE SOME RATHER MILD REMARKS ON HK. QUOTED BY SOME DELEGATES AS SAYING THAT CHINA WAS DETERMINED TO RESUME SOVEREIGNTY OVER HK IN 1997 AND WAS COMMITTED TO IMPLEMENT THE ''ONE COUNTRY TWO SYSTEMS''. HE HAD ALSO TOLD CADRES IN VARIOUS PROVINCES THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE A LARGE CORPS OF MAINLANDERS COMING TO HK FOR THE TAKEOVER. HE ALSO EXPRESSED OPTIMISM ABOUT HK'S LONG TERM PROSPECTS. THE REPORTS NOTED THAT JIANG HAD NEITHER TOUCHED ON THE CURRENT ROW NOR THE SETTING UP OF A SEPARATE STOVE.
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SAR PREPARATORY COMMITTEE
5. PAPERS WIDELY REPORTED (25.3) THAT THE NPC PRESIDIUM HAD ENDORSED THE PROPOSAL OF THE GUANGDONG DELEGATION FOR SETTING UP A PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE SAR PREPARATORY COMMITTEE. GUANGDONG PROVINCIAL SECRETARY XIE FEI WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THE PROPOSAL WOULD BE TABLED AT THE NPC PLENARY BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH. BUT ON 26.3, THE NPC PRESIDIUM MADE TWO AMENDMENTS TO THE PROPOSAL BY THE GUANGDONG DELEGATES. FIRST, THE TIME ELEMENT IN THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL THAT SUCH A COMMITTEE SHOULD BE SET UP ''AS SOON AS POSSIBLE'' WAS DELETED. SECOND, THERE WAS A CHANGE TO THE NAME OF THE COMMITTEE FROM A ''PREPARATORY WORK COMMITTEE TO A WORKING ORGANISATION''. ZHOU NAN WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THE AMENDED RESOLUTION HAD YET TO BE ENDORSED BY THE NPC AT THE END OF THIS CURRENT SESSION AND THAT IT WAS TOO EARLY TO SAY WHEN OR HOW SUCH AN ORGANISATION WOULD BE SET UP. HE ADDED THAT IT WOULD NOT BECOME A SECOND POWER CENTRE. NPC LOCAL DELEGATE LIU YIU CHU COMMENTED THAT OTHER THAN THIS WORKING ORGANISATION, CHINA SHOULD ALSO SET UP AN ORGANISATION TO HANDLE FRANCHISES AND CONTRACTS STRADDLING 1997. HER PROPOSAL WAS SUPPORTED BY LEGCO MEMBER STEPHEN CHEONG WHO SAID THAT IT WOULD BE CONDUCIVE TO HK'S STABILITY.
6.
BOTH SING TAO AND WAH KIU YAT PO (30.3) QUOTED SOURCES AS SAYING THAT THE NEWLY ELECTED CHINESE VICE PREMIER LI LANQING MIGHT BE ASKED TO TAKE CHARGE OF PREPARATORY WORK FOR THE TAKE OVER IN 1997. THE REPORTS NOTED THAT THE SELECTION OF AN EXPERIENCED TRADE AND ECONOMIC OFFICIAL UNDERLINED THE IMPORTANCE THE CHINESE ATTACHED TO MAINTAINING HONG KONG'S STATUS AS AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE AND TO ENSURING HONG KONG'S
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